The Nelson Evening Mail. MONDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 1880.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XV, Issue 46, 23 February 1880, Page 2

The Nelson Evening Mail. MONDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 1880.

If our telegrams to>day are to be relied upon, trouble with the natives on the Wanganui river seems to be brewing, although we cannot help thinking that the sender of the message from Napier appears Jto be disposed to take a somewhat gloomy view of tho matter, as he does not content himself with stating what haß already been done, but ventures upon predictions of what the Maoris will "doubtless" proceed to do. "Major " Kemp, who is in the Government pay, appears to be the leader in the mischief. He and Mete Kingi were consulted by the Government about two months ago with regard to proceeding with the survey of the Rangipopo block, to which the natives were raising objections. Both concurred that by Kemp using hia personal influence the difficulty might be got over, the latter giving it as his his opinion tbat though there might be a little bouncing at first, he could easily talk them out of it. He was accordingly entrusted with the negotiations, but it now turns out that he has been playing a double part, and secretly instigating his followers to resist the survey. "He has at last," sayM&e Fost ol Ba.«.d^, " town, 9$ tjis

mask, and is said to be acting like a madman, indeed it is believed that he must be under the influence of liquor, for he bas been committing preposterous excesses in defiance of the indignant remonstrances of his tribe. He has a small party of follower., and the^ chief fear is lost his insulting action may rouse the anger of Topia and the other tribe and irritate tbem into active hostilities against him. He has been peremptorily recalled by the Government, who have sent a special messenger to him and warned him that hs will be required to give An account oi bis conduct. Mete Kingi also has insisted ou hia immediate return to Wi;.gn_iu_, £,uu all the principal members of tha tribe have written to bim in a similar strain. It is hoped that he will yield tb the pressure thus brought upon him, and avoid tbe necessity of more stringent measures being taken to call bim to order." ..,.-, A GOOD, ilohesl, outspoken address' was delivered by Mr Hursthouse, M.H.R., to his constituents at Waimea West on Saturday night, at the close of which he received an unanimous vote, not only of thanks but of entire confidence. A report of the meeting will be fouud elsewhere. A meeting of the general and sub-com-mittees appointed to arrange for the recep* tion of the at the .Rifle As= sdciation meeting will be held at the Council Chamber this evenmg, when it is hoped that there will be a good muster, as the whole of the Volunteers from all parts of the colony will arrive here during the current week. The annual picnic in connection with the Baptist Church Sunday School will be held in the Maitai Valley to-morrow afternoon. Mr Powley, who attracted a large congregation to the Masonic Hall last night, will preach there again this evening on the subject quoted in the advertisement which appears elsewhere. The members of the Gaiety Variety Troupe arrived here yesterday by the Charles Edward, and will make their first appearance in Nelson to-night. The troupe consists of '. four gentlemen and four ladies, each having a special line, so that a large amount of variety can be introduced into an evening's programme. Miss Irwin and Miss Sally Lloyd are tho danseuses of the company, Miss Lloyd being a ballet dancer with a high reputation from the Melbourne theatres, and ber specialty is the ballet arrangement of the dance of all nations. Misa Irwin is a skipping rope and character dancer, of whom report speaks highly; to-night she will, in addition to the skipping rope act, give a sand jig and a hornpipe. Miss Potter is a ballad j singer possessing a very fine voice, and is also the accompany ist of the troupe. Miss Milner is a serio-comic songstress and a burlesque actress. Mr Frank Brown has a fine baritone voice, and appears in character and motto songs, as also in farces. Mr A. Hayes is a tenor singer aud Dutch impersonator. Mr P. Gill is a very fine Irish comedian and song and dance artist, and also appears in "doubles " with Mis 3 Sally Lloyd. The programme before us contaius a large variety of songs, dances, musical seenas, farces, &c , and, as we are informed, there are no waits or stoppages, everything moving along quickly, a very pleasant eveniug's amusement may fairly be anticipated. The West Coast papers speak in very high terms of the troupe's performances, pronouncing them to be by far the best eTer given on the Coast. In anticipation of the prize firing, to commence next Monday, Mr F. N. Jones has turned out at his saddlery establishment a number of rifle and carbine covers in leather and other materials, tbo former, which of course are the best, being previded with lock and key, so tbat they will net only be a protection against the rain but against damage to the sights. They are offered at very cheap rates and should meet with a ready sale as should the cartridge belts, and ammunition bags t» be obtained at the same place. Mr. W. Bell, the treasurer of the Waimea West Library Committee, asks us to acknowledge the receipt from Mr Hursthouse, M.H.R., of £5 towards the library fund. j The Commissioner of Crown Lands returned to Nelson yesterday, having visited Hampden, Lyell, Reefton, Ahaura, Nelson Creek, Greymouth, Cobden, Westport, aud Charleston. London telegrams of the 20th inst. to the Pott say :— lt is stated that Colonel Sir G. P. Colley, X.C.S.I, C.8., C.M.G., military secretary to the Viceroy of India, succeeds Sir Garnet Wolseley, aa Governor and High Commissioner in Natal and the Transvaal, and commanding the forces in South Africa. —A Glasgow chemist, named Hannay, has succeeded in manufacturing artificial diamonds, said to be equal in all respects to the real gem. — Some exalted personages are implicated iv the outrage at the Winter Palace. The London correspondent of the Pest telegraphed as follows, last Wednesday : — The Czar and the Imperial Family are reported as being overwhelmed at the narrowness of their escape from the attempt made to assassinate them on Monday evening. It was only by the merest accident that they were not all destroyed. The plans of the conspirators were most carefully arranged, and ifc is believed that tbey acted with the knowledge and assistance of parsons in the Royal household. The would-be assassins evidently possess a careful knowledge of the premises and an intimate acquaintance with tha habits of the Imperial Family. The mine consisted of a heavy charge of hthofracteur, placed exactly under that part of the dining hall where the Czar and family usually sat, and tbe explosive was connected with au electric battery, suppoß«d to bave been concealed among the wood in the cellar, where fuel was kept. The charge was fired at the hour when the Czar usually sat down to dinner, but most providentially on this occasion His Majesty -and f.ha family worn detained io anoiber part of the palace, and did not arrive at tbe usual hour. The total number of soldier, injured by the explosion is now stated to be 47, of whom 7 are dead and the remaining 40 are more or less seriously injured The members of the Royal Household are being subjected to rigid examination, with the view of ascertaining whether they are implicated in the plot, whicb, it is believed, could not have been carried out without their coanirance. A special telegram to the Post, dated London 19th inst, contains the following important item of news from Afghanistan: — The invasion of Badakshan by Abdul Rahman, and hia advance on Balkh, on the Afghan frontier, have not only caused considerable excitement at Cabul, but have roused strong apprehensions on the part of the anti-Russian Turcomans, Abdul Rahman being in the pay of fche Russian Government, and attached to General Kauffman's staff. The Turcoman chiefs fear tbat the object of the expedition is not only to open a route for the Russian forces into Afghanistan, but also to enable them to operate against the Turcomans with a view to seizing the northern roads to Herat, and annexing the Turcoman country. They have therefore ' ordered a levy of 60,000 men from their tribes to repel the invaders, and have appealed to the Indian and Persian Governments for assistance— especially in the shape of artillery, in which they are deficient.